mixing refuse of the heart with words of truth for sprinkling on seeds of hope

Building Your Heart Bin

When composting organic material, you need a structure in place to contain all of the matter that will be decomposing. This is called a compost bin.

compost bin: a bin that holds all natural resources and lets the contents break down from developing bacteria so it turns to soil

There are many different types and styles of bins that all achieve a similar end. It’s not one size fits all, unless someone is selling or promoting a particular brand or set of blueprints. Common important features include a reasonable size, a means to contain the refuse, and ease of use.

In the same way, when composting the heart, it is important to have a structure in place to facilitate the process of collecting, containing, and working with thoughts and feelings.

heart bin: a structure that holds the refuse of a heart and lets the contents break down and mix with truth to turn into rich soil for heart growth

Begin with safe community. This can be ready-made, like a church family, or one that you build yourself, such as a group of people in your life that have come together for a purpose. Either way, size matters. In too large of a community, hearts get spread thin and lost. Too small, and hearts pack tightly together with no room to grow. Safety matters, too. Safe community understands that change takes time and that there are many ways to achieve similar results.

Add personal space. This might look like quiet time set aside to journal about what is going on inside of you. Electronically or on paper, take time to face honestly what is not serving you well at the moment. How are you reacting to and relating with your friends, spouse, or children? What is setting off (seemingly) irrational triggers? The bits of your day that aren’t the pretty parts offer great clues as to what to add to your heart compost bin.

Make it work for you. Whatever community structure you have in place, whatever means you choose to contain your thoughts and feelings, use it. A little bit of something is better than a lot of nothing.

Try it! Begin to think about your community and those in it who are safe and supportive. Intentionally journal about what is going on inside of you. Be honest with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. They don’t have to be pretty or sanitized. They are the stem of the grapes, the peel of banana, the rotten part of the lettuce to be tossed aside and collected for later.